Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 - Harold Bindloss (best black authors TXT) 📗
- Author: Harold Bindloss
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Passage, For Grierson, Entering The Room, Explained:
"He Means We've Made Up Our Minds To Look For Mr. Lansing."
Grant Nodded In Assent.
"Then My Man Goes. Turn Out The Boys, Jake; You Know The Place. I
Want Three Horses Saddled, Quick."
"Four," Said Flora, Firmly. "I'm Coming."
Volume 554 Chapter 28 (Flora's Enlightenment) Pg 217
Grant Did Not Try To Dissuade Her.
"Write To Flett," He Said.
He Went Out Hastily In Search Of Blankets And Provisions, And When He
Returned, His Hired Men Had Gathered About The Door And The Note Was
Finished. He Threw It To One Of Them.
"Ride With That As Hard As You Can," He Said, And Called Another,
"You'll Come With Us."
"We're A Strong Party Already," Edgar Broke In. "You're Leaving The
Place Poorly Guarded, And The Rustlers May Have Counted On Something Of
The Kind. Suppose They Finish Their Work By Driving Off Every Beast
That's Left As Soon As We Have Gone."
"I've Got To Take My Chances; We'll Want The Boys To Make A Thorough
Search."
Grant Swung Round Toward The Remaining Men.
"You Two Will Watch Out Behind The Woodstack Or In The Granary. No
Stranger's To Come Near House Or Stable."
"The Woodpile," Said Flora, With A Hard White Face And An Ominous
Sparkle In Her Eyes. "You Would Command The Outbuildings There. If
Anybody Tries To Creep Up At Night, Call Once, And Then Shoot To Kill."
Edgar Saw That She Meant Her Instructions To Be Carried Out; But He
Forced A Smile.
"And This Is The Canadian Wheat-Belt, Which I Was Told Was So Peaceful
And Orderly!"
"It Looks As If You Had Been Misinformed," Flora Rejoined With A Cold
Collectedness Which He Thought Of As Dangerous. "One, However, Now And
Then Hears Of Violent Crime In London."
They Were Mounted In A Few Minutes, And After A Hard Ride The Party
Broke Up At Dawn, Dispersing So That Each Member Of It Could Make
Independent Search And Inquiries At The Scattered Homesteads. Meeting
Places And Means Of Communication Were Arranged; But Flora And Her
Father Rode Together, Pushing On Steadily Southward Over The Vast Gray
Plain. Little Was Said Except When They Called At Some Outlying Farm,
But Grant Now And Then Glanced At The Girl's Set Face With Keenly
Scrutinizing Eyes. In The Middle Of The Scorching Afternoon He
Suggested That She Should Await His Return At A Homestead In The
Distance, But Was Not Surprised When She Uncompromisingly Refused.
They Spent The Night At A Small Ranch, Borrowed Fresh Horses In The
Morning, And Set Out Again; But They Found No Trace Of The Fugitives
During The Day, And It Was Evening When Edgar And Grierson Joined Them,
As Arranged, At A Lonely Farm. The Two Men Rode In Wearily On Jaded
Horses, And Flora, Who Was The First To Notice Their Approach, Went Out
To Meet Them.
Volume 554 Chapter 28 (Flora's Enlightenment) Pg 218
"Nothing?" She Said, When She Saw Their Dejected Faces.
"Nothing," Edgar Listlessly Answered. "If The People We Have Seen
Aren't In League With The Rustlers--And I Don't Think That's
Probable--The Fellows Must Have Gone A Different Way."
"They've Gone South!" Flora Insisted. "We May Be A Little Too Far To
The East Of Their Track."
"Then, We Must Try A Different Line Of Country Tomorrow."
The Farmer's Wife Had Promised To Find Flora Quarters, The Men Were
Offered Accommodation In A Barn, And When The Air Cooled Sharply In The
Evening, Edgar Walked Out On To The Prairie With The Girl. She Had
Kept Near Him Since His Arrival, But He Was Inclined To Believe This
Was Rather On Account Of His Association With George Than Because She
Found Any Charm In His Society. By And By, They Sat Down On A Low Rise
From Which They Could See The Sweep Of Grass Run On, Changing To Shades
Of Blue And Purple, Toward The Smoky Red Glare Of Sunset On Its Western
Rim. To The South, It Was All Dim And Steeped In Dull Neutral Tones,
Conveying An Idea Of Vast Distance.
Flora Shivered, Drawing Her Thin Linen Jacket Together While She
Buttoned It, And Edgar Noticed Something Beneath It That Broke The
Outline Of Her Waist.
"What's That At Your Belt?" He Asked.
"A Magazine Pistol," She Answered With A Rather Harsh Laugh, Producing
The Beautifully Made Weapon,
"It's A Pretty Thing. I Wonder Whether You Can Use It?"
"Will You Stand Up At About Twenty Paces And Hold Out Your Hat?"
"Certainly Not!" Said Edgar Firmly. "I Wouldn't Mind Putting It On A
Stick, Only That The Shot Would Bring The Others Out. But I've No
Doubt You Can Handle A Pistol; You're A Curious People."
He Thought The Last Remark Was Justified. Here Was A Girl, As Refined
And Highly Trained In Many Ways As Any He Had Met, And Yet Who Owned A
Dangerous Weapon And Could Use It Effectively. Then There Was Her
Father, An Industrious, Peaceable Farmer, Whose Attention Was, As A
Rule, Strictly Confined To The Amassing Of Money, But Who Was
Nevertheless Capable Of Riding Or Shooting Down The Outlaws Who
Molested Him Or His Friends. What Made The Thing More Striking Was
That Neither Of Them Had Been Used To Alarms; They Had Dwelt In Calm
Security Until The Past Twelve Months. Edgar, However, Remembered That
They Sprang From A Stock That Had Struggled Sternly For Existence With
Forest And Flood And Frost; No Doubt, In Time Of Stress, The Strong
Primitive Strain Came Uppermost. Their Nature Had Not Been Altogether
Softened By Civilization. The Thought Flung A Useful Light Upon
Flora's Character.
Volume 554 Chapter 28 (Flora's Enlightenment) Pg 219
"If The Trial's A Lengthy One And These Fellows Hold Him Up Until It's
Over, It Will Be A Serious Thing For George," He Resumed, By Way Of
Implying That This Was The Worst That Could Befall His Comrade. "The
Grain's Ripening Fast, And He Hasn't Made His Arrangements For Harvest
Yet. Men Seem Pretty Scarce Around Here, Just Now."
"It's A Good Crop; I'm Glad Of That," Said Flora, Willing To Avoid The
Graver Side Of The Topic. "Mr. Lansing Was Anxious About It, But This
Harvest Should Set Him On His Feet. I Suppose He Hasn't Paid Off The
Full Price Of The Farm."
"As A Matter Of Fact, He Hasn't Paid Anything At All."
"Then Has He Only Rented The Place?"
There Was Surprise And Strong Interest In The Girl's Expression And
Edgar Saw That He Had Made A Telling Admission. However, He Did Not
Regret It.
"No," He Said; "That's Not The Case, Either. The Farm Is Still Mrs.
Marston's."
"Ah! There's Something I Don't Understand."
Edgar Was Sorry For Her, And He Felt That She Was Entitled To An
Explanation. Indeed, Since George Was Strangely Unobservant, He
Thought It Should Have Been Made Earlier; But The Matter Had Appeared
Too Delicate For Him To Meddle With. Now, However, When The Girl's
Nature Was Strongly Stirred, There Was A Risk That, Supposing His
Comrade Was Discovered Wounded Or Was Rescued In Some Dramatic Way, She
Might Be Driven To A Betrayal Of Her Feelings That Would Seriously
Embarrass George And Afterward Cause Her Distress.
"George," He Explained, "Is Merely Carrying On The Farm As Mrs.
Marston's Trustee."
"But That Hardly Accounts For His Keen Eagerness To Make His Farming
Profitable. It Strikes One As Springing From Something Stronger Than
His Duty As Trustee."
Edgar Nodded.
"Well, You See, He Is In Love With Her!"
Flora Sat Quite Still For A Moment Or Two, And Then Laughed--A Little
Bitter Laugh; She Was Overstrained And Could Not Repress It. A Flood
Of Hot Color Surged Into Her Face, But In Another Moment She Had
Recovered Some Degree Of Composure.
"So That Is Why He Came Out?" She Said.
"Yes; He Was In Love With Her Before She Married Marston. At Least,
That's His Impression."
Volume 554 Chapter 28 (Flora's Enlightenment) Pg 220"His Impression?" Echoed Flora, Keenly Anxious To Cover Any Signs Of
The Shock She Had Received And To Learn All That Could Be Told. "Do
You Mean That Mr. Lansing Doesn't Know Whether He Is In Love With Her
Or Not?"
"No, Not Exactly!" Edgar Felt That He Was On Dangerous Ground. "I'm
Afraid I Can't Quite Explain What I Really Do Mean. George, Of Course,
Is Convinced About The Thing; But I've A Suspicion That He May Be
Mistaken; Though He'd Be Very Indignant If He Heard Me Say So."
He Paused, Doubtful Whether He Was Handling The Matter Prudently, But
He Felt That Something Must Be Done To Relieve The Strain, And
Continued:
"George Has The Faculty Of Respectful Admiration Highly Developed, But
He Doesn't Use It With Much Judgment; In Fact, He's A Rather Reckless
Idealist. There Are Excuses For Him; He Was Never Much Thrown Into
Women's Society."
"You Think That Explains It?" Flora Forced A Smile. "But Go On."
"My Idea Is That George Has Been Led By Admiration And Pity, And Not By
Love At All. I Don't Think He Knows The Difference; He's Not Much Of A
Psychologist. Then, You See, He's Thorough, And Having Got An Idea
Into His Mind, It Possesses Him And Drives Him To Action. He Doesn't
Stop To Analyze His Feelings."
"So He Came Out To Look After Mrs. Marston's Property Because He Felt
Sorry For Her, And Believed Her Worthy Of Respect? What Is Your
Opinion Of Her?"
"I'll Confess That I Wish She Hadn't Captivated George."
Flora's Face Grew Very Scornful.
"I Haven't Your Chivalrous Scruples; And I Know Mrs. Marston. She's
Utterly Worthless! What Is Likely To Happen When Your Comrade Finds It
Out?"
Then She Rose Abruptly.
"After All, That's A Matter Which Chiefly Concerns Mr. Lansing, And I
Dare Say The Woman He Believes
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